William Michael Morgan has been keeping us on our toes lately, releasing three separate songs without a ton of fanfare, leaving us guessing to which one may materialize into a bona fide new single, and if and when we may hear about a new record where these songs are coming from. Well it turns out there is a method to this William Michael Morgan madness: he’s testing us to see what he thinks fans want to hear.

Morgan started by releasing the very modern-sounding and radio-friendly “Tonight Girl” a few weeks ago. Then he did a virtual 180 two weeks later with the pretty traditional and slightly pointed in message “Brokenhearted,” bemoaning the lack of sad songs in modern country. Then on November 9th he released the song “Talking To A Girl,” which is kind of in the middle. Morgan co-wrote “Talking To A Girl” with Bobby Pinson and Shane Minor, and out of the three songs it’s perhaps the most personal. Morgan went through dissolving an engagement in 2017, and “Talking To A Girl” is about getting back on your feet.

According to William Michael Morgan, the reason the three songs have been released in pretty rapid succession, but none of them have been selected as a single just yet is because his camp wants to gauge fan feedback to decide which direction to go.

“With our first three releases off the debut record, we didn’t get a chance to really see what people were liking more. We just did the songs and put the album out,” Morgan tells The Boot. “I guess that works, and it’s always been a way to do it, but we started figuring out that when people come to shows, they might like this song a little more, or they might really want to hear that one. So it was like, ‘Why don’t we let them decide?'”

So the plan is to take these three songs released already (or more), see which ones fans like the best, and make some decisions from there.“They’re the ones who are gonna come to a show. They’re the ones who are gonna stream or buy our songs, wear our T-shirts and our hats. That’s the people you wanna make happy,” Morgan says. That means you have a say so in what we may hear from William Michael Morgan next.

At the moment, the first song “Tonight Girl” is in the lead as far as consumption compared to the other two, but it also had a two week head start, so it may take a while to hash out which track finds the greatest reception. On Spotify for example, “Tonight Girl” has about 321,000 plays, while “Brokenhearted” has about 221,000 plays at the time of posting. The just-released “Talking To A Girl” has 16,000 plays.

Certainly if Saving Country Music had an opinion on the matter, songs such as “Brokenhearted” and “Talking To A Girl” would be the type of material we’d want to see from William Michael Morgan. But as a mainstream, major label-signed artist, Morgan has to walk a tightrope. He needs to endear himself to country radio, and wow crowds he may open for on tour. As one of mainstream country’s few traditional-styled up-and-comers, it makes the fate of William Michael Morgan much more important than the music itself.

It’s also an important question to ask whether the best strategy wouldn’t be to just release the most honest expressions straight from the heart, data be damned, and try to get the world to bend to your musical will as opposed to vice versa? But at least this way, fans can pipe up and let Morgan know what they want to hear, as opposed to waiting to hear what radio will accept.

William Michael Morgan says his next record is about half way done, and he’ll be heading into the studio again soon.

42 Comments

On the one hand, respect the data… but on the other hand, given how much streaming playlist placements contribute to how the numbers run up, it might seem really damn short-sighted for William Michael Morgan to rely just on the data if he doesn’t know what drives it, especially when a more traditional-leaning song won’t make those big playlist placements.

So yeah, I think he’d be better off sticking to his gut in this case instead of the ‘data’ if he’s not VERY careful reading it – especially as his gut tends to have good instincts.

His marketing team are either creative geniuses or simply loosing faith in him/label. This is an odd way to decide. But I would go with Talk to a Girl.
His last album, my fav single was Vinyl… But it never charted… While I Met a Girl went #2 . doesn’t make sense to me… Vinyl the single was pure gold, in my honest opinion

I like this guy… But he doesn’t write his own songs, which kind of dissapoints me. I feel like if he wrote them then maybe he would have a better idea on what single to put out.
His label might be able to persuade him more… Since he doesn’t write them

” I feel like if he wrote them then maybe he would have a better idea on what single to put out.
His label might be able to persuade him more… Since he doesn’t write them”

sorry but I think that is wrong , arnold ……

one of the biggest problems in ‘ country ‘ music mainstream today is artists who are expected ( told to ) to write or co-write their own material . most of them can’t . I mean sure , anybody can rhyme words and call it a song . but what’s SEVERELY missing is the skilled songwriters who spend years and years honing their craft as ONLY songwriters….who’ve learned from every success and failure and who embrace the ART of songwriting in ways that most young artists haven’t ( Kristofferson , Paul Overstreet , Don Schlitz, Hugh Prestwood ,Jimmy Webb , Craig Wiseman etc.. )….and probably never will . the industry sorely needs the songs of the GREAT professional song writers who know how to move us emotionally .

I agree with you that songwriters are very much needed in this industry. I think all artists should use and appreciate them, but they shouldn’t soley rely on them. If i was a country artist, I would like to have the talent of writing good songs and having a great cohort of writers. George Strait primarily relied on writers and that’s fine and all … but having the ability to write or cowrite your songs probably gives one more mobility in the industry (especially starting out as a new artist). William Michael Morgan is just a pretty face who can sing damn well. But if he cowrote songs, then he might be the full package. I don’t know WMMs story… maybe he does write but it didn’t make his first album cut.
But look at Taylor swift, Luke Combs, Midland, even Sam Hunt, FGL, Keith, Dierks, Thomas Rhett, , Now even Carrie Underwood writes more. It definitely is a more popular trend these days. It definitely wouldn’t hurt WMM to try to cowrite some stuff.

But do you ever wonder just how much of the song the artist actually writes, when there are 2 other people writing with them? Like when stars come out with autobiographies with the “help” of an actual writer?
I know the multiple writers thing is the trend, and I’m sure the other 2 wouldn’t want to give away some credit if he did nothing, but I still wonder exactly how that goes in many cases.

I realize all of these people write……..but you’ve only made my case for me Arnold .
They don’t write GREAT material like a Dean Dillon or a Bob Dipero ….they may write or co-write the odd song that stands out and yes …they may sell and , of course , that’s the bottom line for a label , but most of it is forgettable and just not great writing . Nobody’s writing ” The Gambler , Walkin After Midnight , Monday Morning Church , All My Exes ..etc…….its far more ‘ artist/ -focused than song -focused and the material is far more trendy and less authentic and , because of that , is less likely to stand the test of time .

Taylor Swift ???? seriously ..?
Tom Douglas ( The House That Bult Me ) or
Taylor Swift ( We Are Never Getting Back Together ) ..?….hmmm…that’s a tough one ..

@Albert, I’m just talking about mainstream radio hits. Not artsy song of the year material.
Not a T Swift fan, but she attracted a massive following for her songwriting, she was known for that. People wanted to hear what she would sing about next. Same with Luke Combs with this album of his. Ppl really connect with his entire album, not just with the radio singles. That’s why he his headlining already. Singer/Songwriters seem to have a leg up on the competition straight out of the gate. That’s all I was alluding to here.
George Strait, and others… and even Blake Shelton have the old fashioned mentality of “ill be given the hit songs because I’m a superstar”. They probably dont think that, but to us outsiders it can look that way. That appears to be out of style as a majority of artists today at least cowrite a few songs on their albums.

I love a good debate. This thread is neat.
But think about it, you roll into Nashville at age 21. You are playing in bars. What should you be singing to intrigue agents? Cover songs or original songs that u wrote???
I think the best answer is BOTH. Covers and slip in a few originals in the setlist. You cover all ground that way.
New artists that arrive to Nashville very rarely know songwriters, unless your Father is Rhett Atkins.
Knowing how to write or contribute to songwriting is an important factor. You can’t skip it. It’s an important tool.

Plus, back in the late 1980s, a main reason why Alan Jackson was signed to a label was because he wrote a lot of songs that were personal to him. I think out of the 35 #1 hits he had, he wrote or cowrote 25 of them.
To stand out, maybe WMM could at least cowrite 2 or 3 songs on his next album, maybe one could be a single etc.
When Alan first came about in 1989, he was viewed as being too country for country. The same could go for WMM , as I think he is the most traditional major label artist of today.

King George didn’t write hardly any of his songs, so that’s irrelevant. Delivery, production, and identification are the keys. Tyler Childers will upstage all these wannabes eventually. He is the future and the vanguard of country music. All others are imitators.

Hmmmm ….another case of trying to be all things to all people rather than just being true to yourself and COUNTRY music …?…..

” You gotta stand for SOMETHING or you’ll fall for anything ”

”It’s also an important question to ask whether the best strategy wouldn’t be to just release the most honest expressions straight from the heart, data be damned, and try to get the world to bend to your musical will as opposed to vice versa…..”

More artists need to do this to survive long-term rather than cow-tow to labels, to radio ,and to finicky fans. Establish an identity YOU can live with as an artist …one that you KNOW is in your bones and that you can live with regardless of what that 17 year old girl THINKS your take on ‘ country ‘ music SHOULD be !

I’ve been following WMM on Facebook for a while now, since before his debut album. My impression is that he genuinely loves country music and embraces his role/opportunity to hold the banner for real country in the mainstream landscape, all the while being humble and not presenting himself as the cure to all the ills in Nashville. I wasn’t happy with “Tonight Girl,” but I can see how Morgan was testing the waters. I really like “Talking to a Girl,” not least because I can connect with the lyrics — simple as they are, but that’s country. I’m sure that his position at his label is precarious. He surely knows that, and he seems to know that, in the long run, it’s the country fans that matter and will support him, come what may.

I still think the guy sucks. The bad music is bad, plus the dude just flat out said he’s trying to sell out as hard as he could. “Traditional-leaning” doesn’t mean much, even less when it’s just not even that. He should do a song with Zac Brown.

I Met A Girl.
Talking to a Girl.
Holding the Hand of a Girl.
Tinder Swiping To a Girl.
Opening the Door for a Girl.
I Want to Kiss a Girl.
Square Dancing with a Girl.
Cutting out Coupons with a Girl
Checking a Girl for Ticks ft. Brad Paisley.
Getting a Girl in my truck ft. FGL (WMMs bro phase)

On the one hand, I understand that everyone needs to pay the bills, but on the other hand I can’t help think that changing to whatever poeple want is pretty pathetic. My favorite artists seem to be the ones that would do what they do regardless of who shows up. And the authenticity comes through. Otherwise, you’re just a puppet, a trained monkey, or…I think we all already get the picture. I’m not in his shoes, so I don’t want to judge him too much…hopefully whatever people want to hear is not the complete opposite of what he wants to do.

And no, I’m not some blind utopian with regard to the realities of majors and radio play. Not everybody can be JP motherfuckin Harris. But WMM is literally, proudly reducing himself to a directionless robot (posing as an “artist”) that executes the will of the data/fans/money/it’s all the same thing.

You know this is why guys like Bryant Rhett Jordan are in the game. But not only does the WMM-bot take on this strategy as the guide to his “art”… he actually COMES OUT AND SAYS IT? Like he isn’t extremely fucking embarrassed to be laying down tradition & integrity & artistic vision at the altar of data/fans/money? Even Walker James Chase wouldn’t dare verbalize this shit.

Go ahead, tell me that I’m overreacting. But you wanna know why mainstream country is the sewer it is? Because of this exact fucking reasoning.
You want to try to better radio and mainstream from the inside-out? Hallelujah, we need people like you! But you do that by (1) knowing who you are, and (2) calling consumers forward by presenting a compelling artistic vision that’s both true to yourself and respectful of tradition. Give us some songs and music you couldn’t not create, not some three-choice-ballot bullshit that is literally being focus-grouped on the national level. You can’t be a positive force in radio/mainstream by cowardly reflecting back to the public what they currently like. This strategy is in fact definitionally opposed to positive change.

At this point, even if the WMM-bot winds up churning out some traditionally-leaning notes and lyrics, I won’t be able to take it seriously. As a bot, it is antithetical to vitality, authenticity, vision, and the crackle of genuine creativity and artistry.

As someone holding out hope for majors and radio, I wanted to root for WMM.
And Trig, you did him the best turn you could here.
But fuck this, and fuck the WMM-bot.

A song like “Talking To A Girl”—not even “Brokenhearted”—is more country, and more quality than 99% of the other material on country radio. If you listen to a song like “Talking To A Girl,” and the reactions are “Fuck this,” and that William Michael Morgan is “selling out as hard as he could,” then there is no hope for country music. It is comments like these that come up when people criticize Kane Brown and then they are laughed off as only wanting country music to always sound like Hank, and never change.

I completely understand that not everyone interfaces with mainstream country music, and may not understand the degree of filth out there. I’m not trying to convince anyone to be a William Michael Morgan fan. I was just reporting on why he’s released these three songs, and what his intentions are with them. And if the reactions are “fuck this guy,” and proclaiming that he’s the biggest sellout in mainstream country, then we’re truly fucked, and I have failed to get even a sliver of the importance about caring what happens in the mainstream across.

Respectfully, I think you missed my point. The problem I have with the “bot-version” of WMM is not the final product (e.g. your comparisons of him to the rest of the industry; I am happy that his stuff seems to be more country than the rest), it’s the process he laid out in the quote.

1. I think it’s terrible for an “artist” to throw his hands up and say “I don’t know… ‘Why don’t we let them decide?'” Again, I think this severs you from authenticity, creativity, direction, vision, and–in fact–genuine positive change (see below). It’s the difference between the abominations that are imitation plants, and the real things; between an artist with agency and authenticity, and a robot that executes what it’s told to do.

2. I do care about what happens in the mainstream, and welcome progression:“You want to try to better radio and mainstream from the inside-out? Hallelujah, we need people like you! … [I am] someone holding out hope for majors and radio”
In fact, these are the reasons why I detest WMM’s attitude/business plan so much––not only do I find it antithetical to the essence of artistry, I think it intrinsically reinforces the current, poor state of country music and precludes change:“You can’t be a positive force in radio/mainstream by cowardly reflecting back to the public what they currently like. This strategy is in fact definitionally opposed to positive change.”
I completely understand the necessity of compromise for mainstream acts. But you’ve got to be more than a windsock. If you don’t have anything left to say as an artist (other than echoing back to the general public what it tells you it wants), then make way for the next version of 2016’s WMM.

According to WMM, he released a three-choice ballot of songs, and the results of this nationwide “focus-grouping” will determine where he goes artistically––that I abhor.

(Also, though I stand by my full-throated criticisms of WMM, if I came off aggressively towards you, it was unintentional and I apologize. I got a little riled up 🙂 )

….this is ” Band Perry ‘ territory…shameless selling out regardless of your talent level and love of music . and we already have HUNDREDS of folks here at ‘ the company’ who’ve sold out and are pretty-much just label jingle singers . if every radio act today had to wear red noses and sing hungarian folk songs to be acknowledged and get airtime on mainstream I believe most would .

they are not COUNTRY ARTISTS with a respect for country music which inspires and informs their vision , drives them to be creative , inventive , adventurous and passion-filled ( Ashley McBryde , Whitey Morgan ) all the while RESPECTING COUNTRY MUSIC for its history of relating to mature listeners and bringing us songs about more than girls and beer .

do you HATE sturgil , kacey musgraves , stapleton , jinks and the other acts mainstream loves to ignore but sell out venues non-stop ? GOOD ….then they’re probably doing something right by the music and by themselves .

we have to stop measuring mainstream by its own crooked yardstick . we have to ask ” Is this song , sentiment and performance on par with the great stuff country has brought us ?….or is it only just a little better than most of the shit we hear ?

I’m mostly on board with this, but I disagree that “we have to stop measuring mainstream by its own crooked yardstick…” That could be true individually––in fact, personally, the closest I come to listening to anything mainstream is Miranda. But in the broader context of the tradition of country music, ignoring radio/mainstream only results in the tradition’s detriment.

As I tried to clarify above, I’m not some kind of “who cares what the majors do” separatist, nor do I think “country shouldn’t evolve.” I think radio and the mainstream is incredibly important to “saving country music.” This is why in my third paragraph I laid out my idea of how artists can do this well––authentically, creatively, and respectfully––within the limitations and necessary compromises that mainstream country necessitates. In fact, I think a good example of navigating these realities well was the 2016 version of WMM.

I just found WMM’s statement horrifying on two levels: setting up a kind of “democratic voting process” as the guiding light for one’s future art (1) undermines authentic artistry, and (2) vacates the artist’s role of creativity and evolution within the tradition of country music––instead of calling the public forward to the lighting up of new possibilities, you’re just cowardly reflecting their current (generally poor-ish) tastes back to them.

Based on the responses I’ve gotten, I know I haven’t communicated clearly. But hopefully this helps a little.

Brokenhearted is a nice song. It’s catchy and has some traditional elements to it, but I’m pretty disappointed in the other two songs released so far. They sound ike mediocre 2000’s pop country, which is better than what’s on the radio today, but still disappointing.

Un-/popular opinion: WMM can release 101 more songs & all will have to fight for airplay.

He might be a nice guy who loves country music but i don’t “feel” or “hear” his voice or personality. Out of the three songs it’s “Talking To A Girl” for me (sounds like a 15 year old Tim McGraw song).
It’s not a good time for a traditional artist with a Nashville label record-contract.
But the resolution is easy…more tatttoos, more auto-tune, more gym-time, more Ashley Gorley songs, more buzz-words like “party”, “tailgate” or “umbrella” in your “drink” & the next #1 hit is guaranteed.

After reading this, I was looking forward to hearing “Brokenhearted”: a song that championed country sadness over feel-good pop. Plus I like country songs about country songs.

Man was I disappointed. The sentiment was fine. But THE MUSIC WASN’T SAD. At their darkest, the tune and the interpretation were mildly nostalgic and a little miffed. You could substitute bro lyrics about pickup trucks and tequila parties, and the song would make more sense.

“I Met a Girl” is optimistic but it doesn’t hide the loneliness the singer feels. It’s a good country song. “Tonight Girl” on the other hand is feel-good country pop, without a bit of authenticity. Tyler Childers chronicles happy relationships, and it comes across as real and heartfelt. “Tonight Girl” is not only country radio friendly, it’s country music hostile. I’m cleaning my ears out with some Moe Bandy. He knew how to make sadness fun.

its all just straw-grasping ……..folks who are desperate to sing whatever works to generate SOME kind of revenue . if you are truly authentic and have an opinion , a vision,a ‘ sound’ you are likely to be ignored by Nashville right now …

I gotta disagree with all the commenters hollering about him selling out. The fact Tonight Girl hasn’t been announced as a single is a clear sign he’s fighting to not sell out. You have to keep in mind that as a new mainstream artist with little mainstream success, he is largely at the mercy of his label here. Most of the time, the label would make him cut Tonight Girl and ship it off to radio. In this case they are actually willing to look at the data and see if there’s a chance for him to develop a “niche market” catering to people who actually like country music. Y’all ever heard the phrase “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”?

Sounds to me as if WMM has been threatened by his label to either put out music that is going to get radio play or else. Its a real shame that corporate radio has destructed real country musicians like WMM. Corporate country radio is why artists that originally made actual country music (for i.e., Billy Currington) are selling out as hard as they can just to get a half decent amount of airplay.

If you let your fans dictate what appears on an album, then you may have an work that (for the majority of listeners) has no weak tracks, but you also get an album that probably has no dominant theme or purpose–it’s the equivalent of one of those greatest hits compilations. Sometimes what people want to hear isn’t what they need to hear.

I like the vibe of “Brokenhearted” a lot more as a traditional country fan I think could get steam on the radio since its not slow. But any of the 3 songs I would be glad to hear on radio, even “Tonight Girl”, although it’s not down deep traditional country it’s still not bro country and could resonate with traditional fans. And to help Trigger out, even if you are not a WMM fan, I find it hard to believe that WMM is quoted saying he is trying to sell out, and if he was trying to just make money, traditional country music on commercial radio is not going to make him nearly as much money in my opinion as the popular bro country would on radio.